The Sound of Summer

26. Be A Good Boy

The days go by quickly and slowly at the same time. I decided to meet Ovie and Olivia the next day and we ended up having a really great time. She apologized for the whole Dom awkwardness and we were able to move on from it pretty swiftly. I think maybe we're friends or something. Classes have been fun and stressful to navigate, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Finally, though it's Friday and I'm getting ready to pick Dom up from the airport. I'm in the middle of packing up the cookies and sandwiches I made when the apartment door swings open and Claire comes barging in.

"Sheesh, Claire, it's pretty early for a walk of shame no?" I say jokingly, but immediately regret it when I lay my eyes on her and see she's been crying. I drop what I'm holding and hurry to her.

"What's wrong? " I ask, wrapping her tightly in my arms. she collapses in them and we sink to the floor from the weight. She weeps and heaves, and I find my own eyes flooding with tears as well. It's always hard seeing Claire like this because it almost never happens. I've only seen her cry like this twice. The first was when her dad died, and the second was when she forgot to watch Little Miss Sunshine on father's day like they always used to.

She looks up for a moment, and my heart shatters when I see her. Her eyes are almost swollen shut from crying.

"Fuck, I'm supposed to be stronger than this bullshit!" She screams in frustration while using her sleeve to wipe her face clean. I keep my arms steadily around hers and give her time to gather her thoughts.

"What do you need right now?" I ask her softly, and she leans her head into my shoulder.

"A blunt and a bottle of vodka."

"It's 7 am I can't in good conscious let you get fucked up, but we have kombucha and those chocolate cigarettes your mom gave us," I say, trying my best to lighten the mood. Claire lets out a small chuckle and the tightness in my chest releases slightly.

"I'll take it." We stand up from the floor and make our way to the living room. She plops down on the couch while I get her plate ready. I put a cookie out for her as well.

"Thank you. You're so nice" she says, her voice cracking a bit. I hold her hands in mine and offer her a gentle smile.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she looks off in the distance for a while, silent but clearly deep in thought. 

"Do you remember in like 6th-grade valentine's day we had that stupid "girls ask boys" dance that we were super excited about?" she asks, suddenly. I decide to humor her, I'm sure there's a reason she's bringing it up. 

"The one I couldn't go to because you gave me the flu?"

"Precisely the one."

"Then yes. What about it?"

"Okay welll... James McCulloch was my date you remember him?" she keeps looking at me for reassurance and I put all my energy into giving it to her. 

"He was only at my house every other day with Sifiso, of course I do"

"Okay well, it was a big deal because I finally found the courage to ask him out and then he said yes and everything was going to be perfect. My mom did my hair up and I put on my favorite Sunday church dress and everything. But, when I got to the dance, James was dancing with Keisha Thompson and my whole world collapsed in on itself."

"And then you spent the whole night crying in a classroom until your mom came right? I think you told me this story"

"Well... not the whole story. Sifiso saw me run off the dance floor and he followed me. He left his date and everything. He sat with me and held my hand and tried his best to cheer me up. That was the day I started to really like him, not just as my best friend's elusive older brother, or as the annoying kid I grew up with but as Sifiso, the carer, and the lover. I try so hard to keep seeing him that way, but..."